Dancing amidst Destruction
by wordsfromNeverland
Summary: Phil Diffy decides to leave the year 2121 and instead spend his life with best friend/girlfriend Keely. When they decide to travel to the 1920s, they meet another pair of time travelers- the doctor and his companion! Phil and the Doctor team up to save the planet, but there are some unexpected obstacles that Phil must face that may jeopardize his future with Keely!
1. Back to the Past

Phil slumped in his chair, fumbling with the Rubik's cube he had bought just a month ago. His eyes stared out the window, focusing on nothing in particular. A long sigh escaped his lips and his father glanced towards the backseat at his son.

"What's up Phil? Aren't you glad to be getting back to the year 2121?" Lloyd Diffy asked cheerily. Phil shrugged his shoulders and continued to stare at the time vortex that they were currently surrounded by. His mother exchanged a sullen look with his father yet the time machine did not stop.

Phil was thrown forward as the RV came to a sudden halt, pulling him from his sleep. The engine sounds slowed down until there was absolute silence. Pim jumped out of her seat yelling something about 'sweet freedom' and 'home sweet home'. Phil did not share the same reaction. His mother followed Pim out of the vehicle, muttering something about how the house needs to be cleaned and dinner to be sprayed on plates. His father stood by the door and stared worriedly at Phil.

"Just give me a few minutes dad," Phil told him, realizing how concerned he must be about him, "Go on. I'm fine, promise"

Lloyd smiled a sympathetic smile. Phil managed to smile weakly back at him as his father exited the time machine.

Phil was sad. Not the kind of sad that he expected to go away in a few minutes. Different than the feeling you get when a favorite character dies on an intense episode of 'Battlebots and Cyborgs'. Definitely not the kind of sad you become when your holographic test paper is returned to you with a failing grade. No, this was a more eternal sadness.

He looked down at the Rubik's cube thrown carelessly on the floor. It must have fallen after he dozed off during the trip. But he had given up on it anyway. It was a jumbled mess of color that just frustrated him at this point. And besides, what did it matter? Rubik's cubes had gone out of style about one hundred years ago. He hadn't even heard of one until that one study session for algebra. It was the day before the big test and everyone was trying to avoid actual studying. Then Seth brought one out of his backpack. He completed it so fast! It was like watching a blur of colors in the air. And then of course everyone wanted to try to beat Seth's time, which was near impossible Phil had pointed out. He remembered how frustrated Keeley had gotten when...

Quicker than Seth completed that puzzle, images of his blonde best friend flooded into his mind. Her smile when they flew on the Skyack for the first time together, her hair blowing behind her. That time she wore an umbrella skirt on her school talk show. Phil couldn't understand how someone still looked trendy even while wearing something so ridiculous. And how could he forget how surprised she looked when he rushed into the newsroom and kissed her. That had been barely two hours before. But now he was here, and she was more than a hundred years behind his time.

Thinking about Keeley had once made him smile, yet now circumstances were different. The time machine had been fixed. His family was anxious to return to their proper time. And it had been so tiring living with the fear of being discovered as time travelers. Still, Keeley had been the best thing that had happened to him- past, present and future.

As Phil sat there tormenting himself with thoughts of regret, he came to a realization that really didn't surprise him. His family may not understand, but he just couldn't stand this feeling that something was missing.

He was leaving the future. He was leaving his parents. And his maniacal little sister. And all the perks of being in the year 2121. Being with Keeley was better than anything the future could provide for him. Being with Keeley was where he would feel complete again.

_Once you read this, I will have gone back in time to where we have spent the past few months. There are opportunities waiting there for me that I just cannot pass up. I am really sorry, and please know that I love you all, even you Pim. I will visit for Unification Day. Don't miss me too much. Love, Phil_

Phil placed the note on the counter, along with a bone for Curtis. It was late, and the family went straight to sleep after the tiring journey home, which gave Phil time to gather the items he needed for making it back to Keeley.

He snuck into his father's workshop, which doubled as the garage, separated from the house and floating in midair. There was a special transport module, similar to an elevator,that carried one up. Thankfully, this process did not make much noise. Once inside, Phil headed straight for the display case that housed the devices that were currently in progress. Before the Diffys had began their vacation to the past, Lloyd had been working on a portable time machine. This gadget looked similar to the Wizard, yet the functions were different. Being that their time machine was so large and resembled a family vehicle, it was not always efficient, especially for individual travel. This device would allow up to two people to travel anywhere in time by the simple press of a button.

The downside to this invention however, was that it was not complete. Yet Phil had been present in the workshop for the test run, and it had run quite smoothly. With this in mind, Phil decided to take a chance with the prototype. Hopefully, his dad would not miss it too much.

He placed the portable time machine in his backpack in between his wallet and the scrapbook Keeley had made for him of his time at HG Wells high school. The one thing he was missing was one of the most important things of all, his Wizard. He had noticed it wasn't in his bag right after he had gotten off the time machine earlier. He experienced a half hour of panic, where he had emptied his backpack five times, hoping it would magically appear. It hadn't.

He concluded that he must have left it in the past, maybe in the bedroom or in his locker. This notion would have made him very uneasy, except for the fact that the Wizard ceases to work once the owner has moved to a different time period and failed to bring it with them. This means that if someone did happen to find it in the hallways, they wouldn't be able to mysteriously change their appearance or anything suspicious.

Thankfully, his father kept extra future gadgets in a drawer in his workshop. There was two extra Wizards, in case someone broke theirs or a long lost cousin came to stay and was in need. Phil took one from the drawer and quickly encoded it to work for him, and only him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Phil saw a light go on in the house. Wanting to avoid any awkward parent confrontations, Phil gathered up his gear and got ready to travel. He programmed the time travel device for the year 2007 and the exact day that he and his family had left. His finger hovered over the button as he glanced to the lit bedroom outside the workshop window. He took a deep breath and whispered "_Here goes nothing". _He jammed the button forcefully and was then plunged into darkness.

Phil hit the ground hard, falling over from the impact. The sun was bright, burning his eyes after that period of total darkness. Sitting on the pavement, he started looking around to evaluate his surroundings. He had landed in a parking lot packed with cars. He barely ever came to this parking lot, being that he took the bus, yet he recognized it as the space behind HG Wells. In the distance, he could hear what sounded like talking on a loud speaker. It seemed to be coming from the direction of the football stadium. Standing up, he brushed himself off and, backpack in hand, headed towards the football field.

Once arriving, he saw that the stadium was abuzz with the noise of hundreds of family members and friends there for a graduation ceremony. Vice Principal Hackett was at the microphone, announcing the names of the graduates as they walked across the stage.

"_Tanner Kirkpatrick"_

Scattered cheers echoed from the stands at Hackett announced the students. Phil had never attended the graduation ceremony, being that he was only a sophomore when he left. There was a mass of students sitting in folding chairs on the field, wearing robes that reflected the school colors. Phil didn't really know any seniors, yet he still scanned the crowd for any familiar faces. He stood at the entrance, which made it difficult to see clearly. Yet he was able to make out the face of the boy who almost beat him up after Pim stood up to his bully of a little sister.

"_Tia Menodza"_

Wait, Tia? Phil was confused. She was also a sophomore this year. How had she managed to skip two grades when she barely passed standard algebra freshman year? The next name also seemed familiar to him, the name of a boy who he remembered from sophomore English class. He could not understand what was happening. Afraid that he got the year wrong, he got the portable time machine out of his backpack to check the date that had been entered. In place of where he had written the year 2007, two flashing words appeared instead: Device Malfunction. A knot formed in Phil's stomach. A malfunction…something told him that he shouldn't have used the prototype. Yet he had been so anxious to get back.

"_Keely Teslow"_

Phil's head snapped up to look at the stage. There she was, crossing the stage in sparkly pink high heels. She was the same old Keely, except there was something strangely different about her. She had an aura of maturity about her that was different than when Phil had left.

And then it hit him. Graduation. This was their graduation. Well, it would have been theirs if Phil had stayed. Now he was simply an outsider looking in. And Keely was a senior. No, she was now a high school graduate! And the words on the time machine made sense. An error must have occurred, sending Phil to the wrong year!

"_Seth Wosmer"_

There was a sinking feeling in his stomach as he realized that he had missed out on two years. Two whole years since he had left. A lot can change in two years, it doesn't matter whether you are from the future or not, that's just a way of life. Thoughts raced through his head. _Does Keely remember me? Is she mad at me for leaving her? Does she have a new boyfriend…?_

The ceremony was coming to a close, and the audience members began filing out of the stands and making their way to the parking lot. Phil waited by the entrance, trying to calm his overactive mind, when suddenly, she saw him.

Keely had just spent hours outside on the football field, a place that she did not often visit during her academic life. She would most likely be found inside the newsroom, planning the story for the next day. She had no time for football games. Yet today was quite different. She, along with her fellow classmates, were graduating from HG Wells Junior/Senior High School and moving onto bigger and better things. For her, this would mean attending a university starting in the fall, studying journalism. She was excited to start this new chapter of her life and move one step closer to finally becoming a famous news reporter. Yet she was sad to leave the school she had spent years of her life in. Walking through the halls brought back such memories, some good, some embarrassing. But most importantly, it reminded her of Phil.

She and Phil had become close rather quickly. It began as a math tutoring gig. And then it grew into a great friendship. Keely had always felt something for Phil. He was so caring, and genuine, that she just couldn't help it. And when he confided in her that he was from the future, well, that just made him even more interesting. Yet she hadn't seen or heard anything from him in almost two years. She wanted to believe that she had gotten over being abandoned by the boy that she was convinced she was in love with, but she still thought about him.

She even experienced times where she thought she saw him. Sometimes, she would be walking to the cafeteria and swear she saw him standing by the lockers, smiling at her. Or she would be at the mall, and catch a glimpse of what looked like Phil on the escalator. Yet when she squeezed her eyes shut to make sure she wasn't imaging things, he was gone.

Keely had just gotten her diploma and made her way back to her seat when the ceremony officially ended. Gathering her things, she started making her way to her car. Her mother was supposed to attend the graduation, but she was called out of town unexpectedly for an open house. She had apologized over and over again until Keely finally convinced her that it was fine, and that she didn't need her to make a fuss over it anyways. Besides, Keely would have been mortified if her mother came dressed in her old cheerleading costume and started chanting rhymes when Keely received her diploma.

She dug her car keys out of her purse, careful not to break any of her freshly manicured fingernails. Once they were procured from her bag, she began searching for where she had parked her car amidst all of this chaos. When suddenly, it happened again. Phil was standing by the entrance to the football stadium, leaning against the ticket booth. She knew it was in her head, but she couldn't help but get excited at the sight of him. She rubbed her eyes and then stared at the spot again. _Strange_, she thought, _He didn't disappear. Why isn't he disappearing? It's just in my head_.

Phil looked in her direction and his eyes brightened as a huge smile appeared on his face. He began waving excitedly. Keely was shocked. Her feet felt as if they were unable to walk, all she could do was stand there and stare.

_Wait, _she realized_, it's him. It's really him._

"PHIL!" she screamed. Suddenly, she had movement in her feet once more and she found herself running forward and landing in Phil's open arms.

Once the initial shock of seeing Phil wore off, the pair decided to move somewhere quieter so they could catch up.

"How about Polka Pig?" Keely asked. Phil remembered that restaurant from when he first moved there. "It's going to be the only restaurant that isn't really crowded today. No one goes there" she added.

"Okay" said Phil, "As long as I don't have to dance this time". Keeley smiled.

They took Keely's car to restaurant. Upon arrival, they were promptly seated. Keely was right, this location wasn't the prime after graduation lunch spot.

There were a few moments of awkward silence. Phil wanted to just continue where they left off, but he was reminded that it had been two years. And Keeley wasn't sure if she should be irritated that she hadn't heard from him in so long, or else ecstatic that she got to see him at all.

"Listen Keely. I'm-" Phil began.

"I missed you," she interrupted him mid-sentence. Phil let out a sigh of relief. He had been hoping she would say something like that instead of something like 'how dare you leave me for so long. I want nothing to do with you'.

"Okay," Keely continued, "now tell me what took you so long". She gave Phil a friendly punch on the arm. He laughed, perhaps to hide the fact that she actually punched hard.

He wasted no time in telling her exactly what happened. About how he thought about how much he missed her since he landed in 2121. How he didn't want to be without her. How he technically ran away from home and into the past. How the premature time machine had messed up. And finally, how he happened upon the graduation ceremony to find that he had been late by two years.

Keely listen attentively, mentally telling herself to save her questions for the end of this story. Yet once he finished, she really had nothing to say. She was so overcome by the idea that Phil had missed her that much. Phil prompted her to fill him in on the rest of high school. Keely told about the news program success. She was still lead anchor. And she was also writing for the school newspaper. Phil was beaming with pride at his best friend.

She moved closer to him so that there was little room on the booth between the two of them. She lay her head on his shoulder and they were silent for a while.

Suddenly, Phil spoke:

"I'm going to make it up to you. Let's go somewhere. Think of it as a graduation present"

Keely sat up straight.

"Anywhere?" she asked, her eyes wide, "Like, time traveler anywhere?"

Phil nodded. Keely expressed that it was such a hard decision. There were so many places that she had wanted to see. Remembering freshman history, Phil was reminded of Keely's favorite time period.

"Let's go dancing! I hope your Charleston isn't rusty" Phil exclaimed.

Keely clapped her hands excitedly. "Phil!" she whispered with enthusiasm, "Seriously?!"

Phil smiled and said "Yeah! Let's go to the 1920's-it'll be the bee's knees!"

Keely smirked and said something about how he was a dork. Yet Phil could tell she was beyond excited. Keely shimmied out of the booth and pulled Phil's hand to urge him out the door. Phil stood up, but refused to move any further.

"Phil! C'mon! Let's go now! Please!" Keely urged.

"Hold on a sec Keel" he said as he pulled her hand towards him. He shyly placed a kiss on her cheek. Keely giggled.

"After two whole years?" she said breathlessly, "And that's it? God, Phil"

And she held his face as she confidently kissed him. She pulled away to see Phil's shocked countenance.

"Now c'mon Diffy! We got some dancing to do. And two years to make up for" Keely danced out of the restaurant as Phil hurried behind her.


	2. Dancing Date

The doctor zoomed around the control panel of the TARDIS, pulling random levers enthusiastically and causing flashing lights to appear. There seemed to be no routine to his button pushing, but soon enough, with a jolt, the machine was up and moving.

His blonde companion stood near the entrance, her eyes following the Doctor while he circled the center of his time machine, checking the controls. He stopped suddenly and leaned against a lever nonchalantly. A smile played at the corner of his mouth and his eyes widened as he spoke:

"Rose Tyler" proclaimed the Doctor. She laughed at the way his eyes widened even more when he lengthened the pronunciation of her last name. She nodded her head to urge him to finish his thought, "Let's do something" he concluded.

"What, like save the world again?" she smiled as she spoke, "Been there done that, yeah Doctor?" She was flirting a bit, the way her voice was higher than normal made it even more noticeable. Yet again, a lot of people couldn't help but flirt with the handsome time lord.

He reached his hand into the inner pocket of his suit jacket, fumbling around for a few seconds as if the pocket wasn't only a few inches deep. His hand finally reappeared, gripping a device that, to the innocent eye, looked like either a futuristic pen or a laser pointer. Yet to one who knew about these time lord gadgets, it was easily recognizable as a Sonic Screwdriver. The Doctor held it up to his face and just studied it, turning it in his hands as if he was going to notice something that he hadn't in his hundred years of using these devices. He suddenly jerked it down from his face and resumed his gaze at Rose.

"Well, yeah saving the world is my specialty. It's in my job description. But what do you want to do today?" he urged, "We have a time machine you know. The possibilities are endless"

In her heart, Rose knew that it didn't matter much to her where they went. She just loved travelling with the Doctor. It added excitement and purpose to her life. Not to mention that she just simply loved the doctor, truly loved him. But of course she wouldn't tell him that. _Besides, _she thought_, he would probably just get an even bigger head. _

"Well, I don't know", she began, "you're the seasoned time traveler here. I'm sure you know all the good spots"

The Doctor nodded approvingly. "You're right!" he agreed, "I know just the place" And with that said, he disappeared around the corner.

Rose stood there, a bit confused, wondering where on Earth, or better said, where in the universe the Doctor was taking her. It could be anywhere knowing him. Maybe that crystal waterfall on a faraway planet. Or maybe they were going to have a picnic and watch a comet streak across the sky hundreds of years from now.

The Doctor scooted around the corner. He was wearing a classy tuxedo and black shoes so shiny that she could see the sparkle from far away. He leaned against the wall and dipped the top hat over his eyes. He stayed like that for a while in silence until suddenly he lifted the hat off of his head and confronted Rose:

"Well….handsome eh?" he smiled and tilted his head waiting for a response. Rose rolled her eyes. When she still hadn't given in to his compliment, he continued:

"We're going dancing! You. Me. 1920's. America…The Roaring Twenties!" he yelled, gradually getting louder with every word. He returned to normal pitch and said "What do you say Rose?"

"America?" she asked, "But-"

The Doctor interrupted her by grabbing her hands and dancing jovially by swinging her arms around and bouncing in circles. When the pair stopped spinning, Rose was dizzy but laughing incessantly.

"Alright" she blurted between giggles, "Let's go Doctor!"

And off the TARDIS went.

"You need some new clothes!" yelled the doctor excitedly, "Proper 1920's dancing clothes. Something that will make everyone stop and say 'well ain't that outfit the cats pajamas!'" He smiled a huge grin and leaned his head toward Rose, waiting for her response.

She assured him that it was fine, she would just wear something from her own wardrobe. Knowing the doctor, they wouldn't be dancing long anyway. No point in getting all dolled up if all she was going to do was running after aliens in a dress.

They stepped out of the TARDIS and into the fresh night air. The Doctor had parked his blue phone box in a little side street just a few steps from a happening dance hall. The live band could be heard from the outside. Trumpets and saxophones were blaring rhythmic tones and toe-tapping beats. The Doctor began nodding his head to the beat and closed his eyes in appreciation of the old music. Rose did the same, mocking her time traveling friend.

The brick building was old, but had the look of an establishment that had been newly renovated. People were entering by the droves- men arm in arm with flapper girls, well-dressed gentleman arriving with associates, excited young girls running into the entrance with their friends. One man, however, seemed out of place.

Pacing frantically in front of the hall was a frazzled looking man, no older than twenty-five. He was carrying what seemed to be a photograph fitting the time period, it being a black and white still. It looked as if he were trying to capture the attention of the dance hall patrons, willing them to listen to his pleas. Yet no one was stopping, they were all too excited to get in to experience the music for themselves.

"You go on in without me", the Doctor said distractedly, staring at the man holding the picture. He began walking forward when he stopped short and turned to face Rose. His hands moved desperately around the front of his suit. Rose arched her eyebrow in confusion.

"No pockets in this suit" the Doctor concluded, "Uhm…" he looked about curiously before deciding, "Rose! Hold this for me will you? Thanks, brilliant, see you inside" handing her his sonic screwdriver. She placed it gingerly in her coat pocket as her eyes followed the Doctor. He was making his way to the front of the dance club.

_Well_, she thought_, might as well have some fun before he finds another job for us_. Rose walked to the beat of the jazz band and joined the crowd of dressed up men and women who were pining to get into the most talked about dance hall in New York.

The inside of the building was far grander than the outside let on. Hundreds of people were packed into the main room, complete with a dance floor, low stage for the band, and a bar area. The staple of the dance floor was a large chandelier, so shiny that it temporarily distracted Rose from the extravagance of some of the dancer's outfits. The women's garb were so full of sequins that they rivaled the shine of the chandelier. The floor was mostly full of girls, their male counterparts could be found seated at the bar, sipping sodas and sparkling water.

Rose loved to dance, although she knew she wasn't very good. All the women dancing the Charleston looked like they were having such fun though, she knew she had to join in.

_I'll wait for the Doctor, _she thought_, That way I'll have someone here for me when I embarrass myself_. A group of girls rushed past her, out of breath and whispering excitedly about the handsome man at the bar stool, looking right at them. They giggled and then headed for the drinks. Rose wandered about, taking in the scenery. She walked along the walls, taking time to admire each photograph hanging. The pictures had dates scrawled on the bottom of them, indicating that was what the dance hall looked like in those years. Each framed photo depicted groups of lively dancers enjoying their night in the exact same building as she was standing now.

The doctor entered, humming along to the tune the band was playing. Rose motioned for him to join her. She pointed out the historic wall hangings, saying that they were really very interesting. A wave of concern washed over the Doctor's face. He leaned close to the picture so his nose was just inches from it, and squinted. He stayed that way for a few seconds.

He bounced back to his normal posture, trying to mask the worried look on his face. Rose was about to ask if everything was alright when he interrupted her pending question

"Go on!" he urged, "go dance! Mingle!" and he shooed her away from the wall. Rose attempted to tell him that she didn't want to dance alone, but the Doctor was already meandering towards a back room, what seemed like an office hidden discreetly in a corner. Rose walked forward, all the while her gaze was on the Doctor, trying to see what he was up to.

She felt her body collide with another, and swiftly turned around to apologize. She was confronted with the sight of a blonde girl, no older than eighteen years old. There were many young girls out dancing tonight, however, the strange thing was the clothing she wore. It definitely did not reflect the fashion of the 1920's. With her minidress and sparkly high heels, she looked like she just walked out of a party during present day. Before Rose could remark on her style, or even apologize, the young girl squeals

"Ohmygod! Cute shoes!"

The Doctor looked around cautiously before turning the door handle of the entrance marked 'Employees only'. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew something suspicious was occurring, and it centered on this exact location.

The man outside had been clue number one. He had been quite frantic about his cause. The woman in the photograph was his fiancée, who had apparently gone missing. He claimed that they were madly in love, so it seems unlikely that she had run off with another man. Stranger even, was the fact that the last place she had been seen was at this exact dance hall.

The doctor pushed open the door expecting much more than what was actually inside. The room appeared to be a typical office: simply a desk, a chair, some photographs on the wall. There wasn't even a lot of clutter. He began poking around the desk, pulling drawers open hastily and examining the contents. When his exploration yielded no suspicious results, he sat down on the desk chair, feeling defeated. He placed his head in his hands and leaned his elbows on the old wooden desk, closing his eyes in concentration. When he opened his eyes, he noticed a calendar laying right under his face. There wasn't much written on it, just a few notes about food and drink orders that needed to be placed scrawled in black ink. Yet there was a pop of color: the date exactly two days from now was circled several times in red ink.

The doctor sat bolt upright with a quizzical look on his face. Something was wrong here. To anyone else, this may not have seemed like such a big deal. Yet he had been around a while, and seen a lot. It was his job to notice these details, and stop something bad from happening. He knew he had two days…but until what?

Just then, the door to the office creaked open.

Rose's eyes moved from the sparkly high heels to her denim dress to her headband. The girl smiled, not at all phased by the way Rose stared at her.

"Uhm, who are-", Rose began, before being interrupted by the outburst coming from the back of the hall. There was a couple standing near an open door. Rose recognized the husband and wife from one of the photographs. The black and white still featured the two of then a few years ago at the grand opening of the club they were currently in. And now there they were in the flesh, looking furious. Then a familiar voice was heard:

"No no no, I wasn't snooping!" Rose recognized the Doctor's words, "I'm from…the government. I'm here with my assistant..uhm…", the Doctor poked his head out the door between the two owners and smiled wide at Rose. He motioned for her to join him and she ran to his aid. He continued with his lie.

"Here she is! This is my assistant", he motioned towards her. Rose nodded and smiled at the couple. The Doctor fished in his trousers pocket and pulled identification out of his pocket. He thrust the blank badge into the face of the husband, and then the wife, all the while explaining his reason for being there. The couple shared a glance of doubt.

"Well, I think we have what we need from here" the Doctor explained, "Best be on our way. Gotta go examine the dance floor and if it can hold up under my wonderful dance moves". And with that, he grabbed Rose's arm and exited the office. After a few steps, Rose stopped. Her hand felt the empty jacket pocket and she inhaled sharply. The doctor turned his head in confusion.

"The sonic screwdriver….it's gone"


	3. Meeting the Doctor

The pair landed gracefully on a cobblestone side street amid the bustle of a late night party. Phil beamed and exclaimed a celebratory phrase under his breath. He was hoping the portable time machine worked this go around. It would be a bummer if he and Keely landed in the vicinity of hungry dinosaurs instead of their intended destination.

"Oh Phil! Look at this-how cool!" Keely exclaimed, pointing at the mass of people headed towards the direction of a dance club. It was mostly groups of girls in sparkly outfits jumping giddily and excitedly chattering with their friends. _Keely will fit in here for sure_, thought Phil. The men walking into the dance hall were often arm in arm with a flapper girl. They all looked so dapper. Phil looked down at his button down shirt and jean ensemble, feeling a bit underdressed.

"Uhm" Phil muttered embarrassingly, "I'll be back" his voice trailed off as he began to walk down the street in the opposite direction of where they were headed. Keely ran after him.

"Hey, Phil" she said annoyed, "I thought we were going dancing? Don't tell me you came back from the future just to leave me abandoned in another decade!"

Phil smiled at the worried look plastered on his best friend's face. He put an arm around her shoulders.

"Keel, I would never leave you. You're my best friend!" Phil stopped and slowly dropped his arm from her. His eyes squinted as he thought, as if what he was thinking was as confusing as an advanced calculus problem. _Who am I kidding?_ Phil thought _Love is even more complicated than a math problem._

Keely tilted her head and looked at Phil. She thought she knew what he was thinking. Because she was thinking the same thing. Of course they were friends, but…were they anything else? In Phil's eyes, they had been dating just a day ago, when he kissed her in the newsroom and then zoomed back to his future life. His real life...without Keely. But to her, there had been quite some time between now and the day that her boyfriend had left her one hundred years behind him.

"Uh" stammered Phil, bringing Keely out of her trance of thinking, "Are we…just friends?"

She knew this question was coming, yet she was still caught off guard. She really loved Phil, but how could she simply fall back into the relationship that caused her such anguish when he left? Ignoring the question, Keely exclaimed:

"Phil Diffy, I cannot believe that you haven't asked me to dance yet" she said in mock anger. When Phil looked legitimately hurt by her accusation, she winked at him and held her hand out, "Come on! Let's go!"

Phil admired her impatience. Yet again, what present day girl wouldn't be excited by the idea of time traveling to go dancing with flappers? He laughed and put his hand in hers. He promised that they would dance very soon, but that there was something he had to do first. He urged her to go on without him. She was hesitant, but she agreed. Phil began to walk away as she stood there watching him. He turned around and waved her in the direction of the dance club. Keely responded by blowing him a kiss. Phil made a huge show about catching the kiss.

Keely giggled and turned towards the bustle of party-goers, eager to learn some dance moves from real life flappers.

The dance hall was quite crowded, and Keely was constantly in the way of the dancers. She had obviously never been in a 1920s club before, so she was astounded at the décor and the attendants that she walked around soaking in the atmosphere instead of watching where she was going. To an attendant of the club, it would appear that Keely was simply walking around the dance floor, doing twirls as she stared at the glimmer of the chandelier. And that's exactly what she was doing-she was so overcome with everything around her! _If only Phil would hurry up_, she thought_, he so needs to see this place!_

As Keely abruptly turned to admire the wall hangings, she found herself colliding with another who also seemed to be wandering around taking in the décor. Keely muttered an absent minded apology, then noticed the appearance of the woman. _Denim jeans and a blue sweatshirt? Number one, I would never wear that! Number two…seems a little out of place! _

Both of them seemed to stare at the other quizzically, as if they were waiting for an explanation. Keely couldn't help but blurting out the fact that she was admiring the woman's shoes. The blue sweatshirt clad female looked at Keely oddly, before turning her head sharply as the sounds of voices could be heard from the back of the dance hall. With a last glance at Keely, the woman ran to the source of the commotion.

She found the situation strange, but Keely wasn't sure what to make of it. Without Phil, she was a bit lost. Attempting to ignore the sight of the woman in present day garb, she continued on with her exploring. Yet she hadn't taken more than a few steps when her foot grazed an object laying carelessly on the ground. She picked it up and studied it closely. It was just a bit bigger than her hand, and felt quite light. She held it close to her face, as if the closer proximity would shed some light on what the device was capable of. Failing to comprehend it from staring, Keely pressed the button on the side of the instrument. With that, a blue light appeared from the tip, accompanied by a slight buzzing noise. Alarmed, she quickly released the button and held it a bit farther from her, as if it would contaminate her.

For some reason, her mind switched to thinking of the Wizard. Although they looked completely different, both devices seemed to Keely to harbor technology from the future world. There was no way this little handheld thing was from the twenties.

Keely searched for an empty table alongside the dance floor, and once she found one, she eagerly sat and placed the backpack she had been carrying in front of her. After rummaging for a few seconds, she produced a Wizard.

Keely felt guilty for keeping this a secret from Phil, but she was afraid of his reaction to her keeping this future gadget. On the day that his family left her time, Keely had taken one last trip to the Diffy residence. She knew it would cause her heartache, but she needed to have some sort of closure. She thought that saying goodbye to the house that she spent so much time with her friend in would give her just that. When she came upon the house, she lingered for a while on the sidewalk. She knew she shouldn't, but she desperately wanted to go inside, to have one last look at the table she had her first Unification Dinner at, and the backyard that she bathed a caveman in. She gingerly turned the doorknob, thankfully the Diffys didn't bother with locking up, and began to walk around, soaking in all of the memories. Beginning to feel like an intruder, Keely decided she would leave. Yet near the base of the couch, she noticed the color blue out of the corner of her eye. Bending over to retrieve the item, she noticed it was a Wizard. More importantly, it was Phil's Wizard.

Now, Keely knew that she shouldn't use it being that she could dangerously alter time and events, but she decided to keep it, as a memory. Another reminder of Phil. And she had been keeping it in her bag ever since. Maybe it was just a reminder of something that occurred in her past, or maybe it had a deeper meaning, symbolizing the hope that one day Phil would return.

Now Keely sat on a hard cushioned chair, holding both the Wizard and the unidentified device. She turned both around in her hands, deciphering any similarities. Looking up, Keely noticed the woman from earlier wandering around again, this time looking quite distressed. She ignored it, and continued investigating. Suddenly, she felt a presence looming over her shoulder. Turning her head, she noticed the blue sweatshirt.

"Thank goodness", the woman exclaimed, snatching the mysterious device from Keely's grasp, "I've was afraid I lost this for good" The woman graciously thanked her and began to walk away, which caused Keely to jump up from her seat and run in her path.

"Wait!" Keely exclaimed, "Who are you…and what is that?" she jabbed at a finger at the device.

The woman looked about uneasily, as if formulating some sort of story.

"Well, I'm Rose. And this belongs to my friend, the Doctor"

Keely thought this explanation odd. Doctor Who? And what did this thing do? Were they from the future as well?

Keely was just about to put on her news anchor voice and ask the hard hitting questions when Phil appeared at her side, wearing a brand new suit and top hat. He smiled so that his dimples were visible and looked at Keely.

"Found you!" he declared, "And look, I bought an outfit fit for the times. Now I fit in and can take you dancing! Do you like it?". His last question trailed off somewhat as he noticed the woman standing with Keely. Not wanting to be rude, Phil introduced himself and Keely to the woman, thinking that striking up small talk with the locals was the polite thing to do.

Rose nodded as introduction and introduced herself. She began to look around again, obviously searching for someone. _Looking for this Doctor man I guess_ thought Keely. But Phil interrupted her search, asking her about the object she was holding in her hands. It looked to Phil like some sort of future technology, but nothing he had ever seen.

Keely could tell that Rose was getting anxious. She was clearly trying to get out of this conversation. Stammering, Rose attempted to respond. Before she could however, she was interrupted by a voice:

"Dashing suit, my friend!"

A man appeared alongside Rose, wide-eyed and all smiles. He stared at Phil and the outfit he wore. Keely stared at his shiny dress shoes, up to his tailored pant leg, then the waist jacket, and lastly the top hat. Then she turned to Phil, and noticed that he shared the exact outfit with the man that just appeared. She saw that Phil noticed it too; his face turned a slight pink as he smiled awkwardly in exchange for the man's compliment.

"Hello," the man extended his hand to Phil as Keely looked on curiously, "I'm the Doctor"


End file.
